


The Man of Many Masks

by theamericanbxtch



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Bittersweet Ending, Boys In Love, Broken Bones, Coma, Depression, Falling In Love, First Kiss, Hospitals, Love Confessions, M/M, Mediocre writing, Mental Breakdown, Mental Health Issues, Persona 5 Spoilers, Recovery, Sad, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, suicidal akira
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-08
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 03:09:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12950004
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theamericanbxtch/pseuds/theamericanbxtch
Summary: Friend, Leader, Criminal, Student and Jokerso many labels for one person to have, so much pressure for one teen.In all honesty, how long would it take Akira Kurusu to fall?tw suicide





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for a discord peep and I'm debating making it a two-parter

Akira Kurusu

Kurusu Akira

Joker, Leader, Student, Criminal and Friend. These were all the labels he was given, all the burdens he had received. 

As Joker, he had to survive in the metaverse, collect personas and change hearts.

As a Leader, he needed to guide the Phantom Thieves, take care of important tasks and keep track of what supplies they had.

As a Student, He needed to keep his grades up and do well on exams.

As a Criminal, he had to obey his probation but also do his best to avoid being caught as a Phantom Thief.

As a Friend, he listened to other’s problems and try to build their trust. Even if that would mean his own needs were ignored.

These were the versions of Akira he showed to the world, the versions they all saw and loved but it didn’t matter.

It never truly mattered as the one face they never saw was that of the broken boy. 

The boy who believed he didn’t deserve his friends.

The one who thought he was living his life as a lie

The one that couldn’t handle being the anchor that held everyone together. They all relied on him, but he was so scared that he could potentially fail. That they would see through his charade and toss him aside.

After the incident with Okumura, he became more reclusive and attempting to stick to the roles he was assigned to.

Friend, Criminal, Student, Leader and Joker.

Criminal, Leader, Friend, Joker and Student

The order may change but the roles stayed the same, each mask was filled with false happiness and charisma. Each one started to crumble on November 10.

How can you be a friend when you only need them to make deals with you?

How are you a criminal if no one understands your crimes?

What’s the point of a leader if they can’t take care of themselves?

What student uses cheats for school?

Why should Joker even exist if Akira Kurusu wishes to jump off the school’s rooftop?

The morning wind swiftly blew through his curly hair while his gaze was focused on the sidewalk below, understanding, in some ways, how Shiho felt for the few months he knew her. How could there possibly be an end to such a vicious cycle? How could anyone even understand the stress that put him through? Sleep barely exists for him now. He was going to be killed in a week anyway, why not do it a bit sooner? 

He took a deep breath and stepped off the ledge

“AKIRA” 

was the last thing he heard before everything went black.

~~~~~~~

It was almost lunchtime, when Akechi finally looked at The Phantom Thieves group text, having screenshot most of the messages to use as evidence, and his eyes quickly went wide. 

Ann [10:40 am]: Hey, Akira why aren’t you in class?

Ryuji [10:40 am]: Dude, why are u sending this in the group chat?

Ann [10:41 am]: Ryuji, shut up and look out the window. Is that Akira on the ledge?

Makoto [10:43 am]: Did nobody start locking the door after the incident with Shiho?

Haru [10:43 am]: I think that’s him, what’s he doing up there?

Ryuji [10:44 am]: That IS him

Ann [10:45 am]: SOMEONE GO GET HIM, HE LEFT HIS PHONE AND MORGANA HERE

Yusuke [10:45 am]: Is something happening to Joker?

Ryuji [10:50 am]: THE DOOR WONT BUDGE DOES SOMEONE HAVE A KEY?

Ryuji [10:51 am] HELLO?!

Makoto [10:52 am]: He jumped.

Makoto [10:52 am]: He just jumped off the edge.

Yusuke [10:55 am]: You must be joking.

Ann [10:56 am]: the ambulance is here. Makoto, Ryuji and I are riding with him to the hospital. The paramedics don’t think he’ll make it.

Ann [10:56 am]: if anyone wants to see him, please come as soon as you can.

Futaba [11:20 am]: SOJIRO AND I WILL BE THERE SOON, IS HE DOING OKAY?

Ryuji [11:21 am]: They don’t know

Makoto [11:22 am]: I just spoke with the doctors, they say he has multiple fractures and the chances of him recovering seem slim.

The time now was 11:45, which meant that the information about Akira’s safety was about as updated as it could be. He didn’t understand why he cared so much, this was the same Akira he was planning to kill in 10 days.

Maybe it was because suicide hurts?

Maybe it was because he didn’t get to harm him on his own?

Whatever the reason, the ace detective left early and immediately started to head towards the hospital near Akira’s school. The trains suddenly feeling like the slowest machines in the world as they didn’t immediately take him to his destination. To the person he only recently realized he had any romantic feelings towards. It didn’t take long for the first of many questions to start plaguing his mind.

Was it his fault?

Of course not, he only knew Akira for a few months and even then, it was small greetings here or there. It wasn’t anything that could dramatically affect the grey-eyed male’s attitude. This was something that clearly had been building up for months.

Once at his stop, Akechi bolted up steps and ignored anyone who was trying to greet him or get an autograph. He had to see Akira. He had to make it to the hospital before he misses his chance to potentially say goodbye.

He panted once inside the building, finding the group of depressed Thieves and the café owner sitting in the corner. Out of all of them, Ann seemed to be the one who was hit the hardest by this incident as if this wasn’t the first time she saw someone do this. Did she? Her face was pale and he figured that talking to her would pointless. She was too stunned for words.

After fixing his coat he started to walk closer, taking notes of how the other’s expressions looked. Futaba seemed to be distracting herself with a game on her phone, while Ryuji was glaring at the nurses for not miraculously making his best friend better. Makoto and the café owner were basically expressionless but he could tell they were still confused.  
Like he was.

He took a seat near Makoto, not making any sounds and just quietly waiting for a doctor to inform him that Akira was stable enough to visit.  
Now that he wasn’t rushing here it gave him a bit of time to think.

Oh, Akira, why did you jump? What were you even thinking up there? Who decided it was okay to push you to that limit?

He couldn’t think of any reasonable answers to his questions, but he did know that, when the ravenette did wake up, he wasn’t leaving the other’s side until he was better.

He couldn’t kill a suicidal Joker

At least that’s what his excuse was.


	2. Awake

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two timeskips mostly from Akechi's perspective

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really short and lame  
> may edit later

It had been two full weeks since Akira had jumped from the rooftop of Shujin academy. The monitor beside him showing that his vital signs were stable, at least for now. The impact of the fall had broken multiple ribs, his right leg and a few of his vertebra but doctors were successful in setting his bones. He had a few other minor injuries but doctors were most worried about the damage to his head.

At least. Akechi had hoped that they were because Akira didn’t seem to show any signs of a quicker recovery. They ran the same tests every time they visit, mostly because Ann seemed desperate to prove that Akira would survive and that this wasn’t her fault in any way.

It wasn’t, but her stubbornness wouldn’t allow the truth to reach. Her desperation became so bad that doctors banned her from visiting for a week as they believed it would be detrimental to her mental health if she kept visiting so often.

Akechi, on the other hand, was allowed in on most days due to the fact he was a bit of a celebrity. Also, because he told the doctors that Akira was related to the Phantom Thieves cases that he was investigating. 

It was only a partial lie.

He did need Akira awake to officially close the case surrounding the Phantom Thieves.

But

He had started to realize he was quickly falling in love with the raven-haired teen and couldn’t just lose him now. 

After a bit of listening to the beeping of the monitors, Akechi reached his hand out and started to fiddle with a strand of Akira’s hair. He watched the way the curl would naturally wrap around his finger and sighed, watching the other’s eyes flutter open with a surprised expression. 

Almost immediately he pulled his hand away and ran out to get a doctor.

He was awake!

HE WAS AWAKE!

It had been two months since Akira first woke up and he still had to go to physical therapy almost every day, his pained expression becoming a normal part of Akechi’s daily life.  
Though he wished it wasn’t.

The therapy, physical or mental, wasn’t the worse part about this. It was the guilt in Akira’s eyes every time he talked to one of his friends or Sojiro. It was the quiet sobbing that Akechi would hear whenever he approached Akira’s hospital room.

It was the fact that he still wanted to die.

That he didn’t seem to understand that he was truly loved for who he was and not the masks he wore to please people. That they loved him even when he was struggling to walk, to remember the day he jumped or even to smile.

But that’s why Akechi was here.

Every day.

To show that beautiful grey-eyed male that he loved him more than anything else. Even if seeing him broken hurt more than anything else in the god damn world. 

He went back to focusing on the present when Akira slipped, his hand reaching out and catching him immediately before helping him steady himself.

“…Why haven’t you killed me? You were going to on November 20th” a soothing voice said quietly, clearly hoping that the physical therapist didn’t hear him. The question completely caught Akechi off guard, his eyes staring at Akira.

“How di-“He started to ask but was immediately interrupted by Akira.

“I have my ways, now tell me,” His voice was soft but stern, one that wouldn’t allow for any foolishness. 

“Well, I at first wanted to kill you for reasons I would rather not discuss. Anyways, I started to….um… become attracted to you and your suicide attempt made me rethink my priorities” He said, a faint blush on his cheeks and staring at the ground.

For a split-second, Akira just stared at him, a calculating expression on his face, before pulling the other down into a quick but gentle kiss.

“Love you too,” He said calmly to the stunned Ace Detective.

Hope and excitement blossomed in Akechi’s chest and he just grinned, glad to see recovery wasn’t as far off as he thought.


End file.
